The New Crop – Rep. Craig Horn

The Republican takeover of the N.C. legislature, the first time the GOP has led both houses since 1898, is a huge shift in power that’s brought a lot of new faces, and people new to doing business on Jones Street. In what we hope is a regular feature this session, N.C. Policy Watch will try to talk with some of the newest members to offer a bit more insight on who they are and what they plan on doing this session in Raleigh. This will be an ongoing feature, with the goal of profiling all the new members. Haven’t been contacted for your profile yet? New legislators can contact reporter Sarah Ovaska at sarah@ncpolicywatch.com[2].

Occupation: Retired owner of a food broker business in Maryland. Moved to N.C. in 2005.

Education: No college degree, but did take classes through Indiana University, Syracuse University and University of Maryland during his seven-year service to the U.S. Air Force.

Previous political experience: Served six years on the city council in Laurel, Md. in the 1970s.

Organizations (charities, churches, civic groups) you’re active in: president of Churchill Center for the United States; on the Board of Governors for the International Churchill Center; president of the Churchill Society of North Carolina.

Hobbies: Spending time with grandchildren; studying, talking or reading about Churchill.

Any pet peeves?: “I hate being late. I hate it when people say, ‘To tell you the truth,’ I hate it when people wag their fingers at me. I understand if other people are late, but if I’m late I feel like I’m insulting the people that are waiting for me. I’m also really put off by bad grammar.”

How you plan on unwinding from the legislative grind? “I wish I could relax. I’ve had a hard time adjusting because there’s been no period of adjustment. Based on what I’ve heard from others, there used to be a gradual gear up. We didn’t gear up, we just hit the ground. It reminds me of being dropped in combat. I had hoped for a more lengthy learning curve. But we weren’t sent to Raleigh to lollygag, we were sent to get to work immediately.”

Why’d you run? “I have seven grandchildren and that’s why. All my life I’ve tried to live by example, to never ask people to do something I haven’t done. It sounds like I’m being very altruistic. I enjoy the attention, but there’s a whole lot more to it.”

What are you expecting from this session? “I’m expecting that we will begin the serious process of putting this state back on a sound fiscal footing. I believe that’s the reason why we’ve had such a change in the complexion of the legislature. I have no illusions about being a big shot. I expect our feet to be held to the fire. I expect that we are all to live up to all those words we used in the campaigns.”

What (policy-wise) keeps you up worrying at night, when it comes to state policy matters?“When I first walked in the door, I put a sign up — 3,700,000,000 (the initial estimate of the state budget gap). I noticed when I wrote one number on a piece of a paper and hung it up, it took up most of the wall of my small office. That’s a big hole. It’s also a big responsibility.”